Background on ViReal
The Premise The entire premise of this shared universe is that the ViReal Project takes place inside a computer. The computer itself, or anything in the physical world, for that matter, does not matter. All of the people in the Project live their infinitely prolonged lives out in this ever-expanding digital universe, unaware of the physical world but for the half forgotten memories of certain individuals. In this universe, you can be whoever you want to be. You can be as strong as you want, as smart as you want, or as beautiful as you want. You can find yourself in a palace with a single wish, or ignore someone forever with just a request. The only thing you cannot change is your personality. The only things you cannot ask for are love and death. You cannot force anyone to love you, or even like you. You cannot guarantee that they will accept you for who you are. Everything is about personality. Do you believe in certain ideals? Do you have certain tastes? Ability is meaningless in a universe where everything is adjustable. Wealth as well - who will be impressed by your opulent living standards if anyone can conjure up the same? Sure, you can create constructs tailored to your every whim, which will act like people and behave as you want, but they will never be the same. You will know. Similarly, you cannot truly harm another. You may temporarily disable them under controlled, consenting conditions, but you can never do anything against another's will. Death isn't even a concept - not for yourself, or for anyone else. The issue of death brings up a conundrum, though. You see, your psyche was not made to exist forever, living a life of eternal instant gratification. You will grow bored. You may go insane. To solve these problems and to adapt to life in the ViReal Project, you and others form and join Cultures. You band together by your interests, and you hold your events and your gatherings. You make your own excuses to live out your stories, and stave off the dullness. How Requesting works A character in the ViReal universe can make requests at any time, so long as their culture does not restrict this. A character can request any material object, from a planet to a body, with any properties he or she decides to imbue it with. There are no limits to requests - only that people can only request what they can imagine. A yacht can be requested, as can a watery planet to sail it on. Even a living Escher painting can be requested. What does not work is something that is, by nature inconceivable or immaterial, like liberty or contentment. When two requests contradict one another, the following rules determine granting. 1. You may not harm another. Harm is defined as any "physical" change without consent. Striking someone counts as harm, but so does turning someone blue, so long as neither action had consent. This rule seems strange, but it prevents people from restraining or harrasing others with requests. Many worlds have implied consent rules, which come into effect as long as the person is visiting. 2. When you are on a world, the will of the world's creator takes precedence. The creator, or anyone the creator gives the power to, can request that anything be done to anyone so long as it is covered in that world's rules, which are given to anyone considering entering it. The one exception is that no one can be stopped from leaving at any time. If the creator or other power-holder rules that a certain type of request is not permitted, then it is not permitted. No one may contradict that person. 3. In the event that two requests conflict, but do not fall under the above rules, then the request made first has precedence. Special Requests Children New people can come into existence in one of two ways - "born" or "built". When someone is "born", its parent(s) make a request for a child, but relinquish control to the computer. The resulting character will be a normal human infant with randomized traits, who will age normally until it either reaches 18 or requests otherwise. This character will be born with all of the privileges that others have, from the requesting ability to protection from harm. When someone is "built", that character is treated like any other item, albeit a more complex one, and can be customized in any way the creator chooses. Since everything and everyone is digital, this makes these characters just as real and intelligent as those who are born, but they are not treated as such. Because they are counted as items, they have no computer-granted rights, and are usually treated as second class citizens by other characters. Facts about Life in the ViReal Project Biological needs - By default, people do not have biological needs. Some cultures require their members to have biological needs, though they are not necessarily the same as physical human needs. A culture revolving around vampirism, for example, might have its members require feeding. Entering and leaving Cultures- Many people grow up as an Independent - someone with no ties to a Culture. A few are born into Cultures. No Culture can stop its members from leaving, though it can intimidate them into staying. Some prohibit people from entering.